May 7, 2006
Siete de Mayo


Who was there: what did they bring?
Julie: chocolate chipotle brownies
Jason & Amy: vegetarian stuffed peppers & pina colada "cupcakes"
Michael: loco for cocoa brownies
Matt: bean & cheese tortillas
Jay & Kelly: sweet corn stuff & mexican cookie-o-rama
Ms Dana: corn cakes & strawberry crepes
Stamatis: tres leches cake, mexican street fruit w/ chili powder
Amy: pork & chicken tamales, texmex "caviar", mango salsa, mexican freezepops
Beverages: sangria soda & pina agua fresca


PRIZES PRIZES PRIZES
Best dish: Jason for veg stuffed peppers
El Andale Hombre Quiz Winner of the architect Muerto from Mexico Lindo: 3-way tie - Julie, Jason, & Kelly: Julie won the tie-breaking question AND picked the winner out of the tiny sombrero
Lotteria big prize winners of Elvis' "Fun in Acapulco" CDs: Jason & Matt
Lucha Libre sticker sets went to: Kelly, Jason, Michael, & Julie
Glow-in-the-dark Elvis Libre postcards went to: Dana, Matt, Julie, & Amy

Amy's Mango Salsa

Ingredients:
1 large extra-ripe mango
0.5 large vidalia onion
2 green onions
1.5 medium green jalapenos
3 cloves garlic
juice of 1 lemon
sugar
pepper
salt
Instructions:
1) peel, core, & chop mango
2) cut a large vidalia onion in half, peel and chop 1/2 of it with your quick-chop
3) chop 2 green onions, white & tender greens only, throw ends away
4) cut jalapenos in halves. pull out seeds and inside pulpy part. chop 1.5 jalapenos. be careful not to get too much jalapeno juice on your hands, and DON'T touch your eye after handling them.
5) peel & chop (or press) 3 cloves garlic
6) mix all in a bowl, add juice of 1 lemon
7) add about 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper, + 1/2 teaspoon salt
8) transfer all to a chopper, blender, or food processor for a quick go-round, this is jsut to break up the mango and make it nice & saucy. if you chop your mango small enough, you won't have to do this part.
9) let it live with itself in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
10) remove from fridge an hour b4 serving to bring to room temperature
enjoy with chips and/or on chicken, tamales, or burritos

Coming Next: BBQ & Bocce in June

April 9, 2006

Theme: Greek Easter

Who was there? / What did they bring?

• Stamatis: Pastichio, Spanikopita, & Tiropita
• Amy: Veggies stuffed with rice, Casseri cheese, Kalamata olives, Ouzo, Amita sour cherry juice
• Daniele: Buffalo Chicken Dip (the inventors of Buffalo Chicken are Greek, yeah)
• Scotty B & Maria: Greek Salad
• Zach: Meditterean Dessert Extravaganza-in-a-Box (with powered pistachio for decorating)
• Julie: Baklava (honorary best presentation winner)
• Michael: Chicken Souvlaki interpretation with Tzatziki
• Rick: A different Baklava, & red wine for the Sprite (from last time)
• Kelly & Jay: Dolmades and stuffed olives

PRIZES PRIZES PRIZES

• Julie won a framed picture of the Caryatids at the Acropolis with her whopping score of 15 out of 18 on the It's all Greek to Me Trivia Quiz (TM)
• Michael won a jar of oregano from the foothills of Mt Olympus for his best recipe of tzatziki
• Jay won a Nescafe Frappe shaker (with a mermaid on the box) for his guess of 10,000 seats in the theater at Epidaurus (actual seat number is 16,200)

Coming NEXT: Siete de Mayo - May 7. Theme is...la comida del Mexico.

March 5, 2006
THEME: The Oscars in New Orleans

Who was there?/What did they bring?

• Stamatis: pecan pie with bourbon & chocolate
• Amy: homemade pecan bbq sauce on chicken
• Kim: mojito makin's
• Shawn & Kaylie: a picture says 1000 words + southern-style cream corn
• Matt & Lara: chili ala New Orleans
• Jay & Kelly: king cake (honorary award for best presentation)
  
  
• Michael: southern-style shrimp with broccoli
• Scott & Maria: crab dip & multitudinous dippers + wine
• Rick: vino

PRIZES PRIZES PRIZES!

Lara won Mardi Gras World framed pix with her Joaquin Phoenix plate.
Maria won Mardi Gras World coasters by picking George Clooney.
Kaylie won an opposite-of-Oscar-nominated DVD for being the only one to pick the "best animated short" winner.


Heard Around

• Crayfish carcasses make good finger puppets & day-long entertainment
• Giant-flowered tablecloths don't absorb tomato sauce too quickly
• Plastic coins don't make your fillings spark

NEXT MONTH: Greek Easter, April 9
ideas & more info in next post

Sunday January 8, 2006

Theme: Happy Birthday Elvis!

Who was there/What he or she brought:
Julie: Love Me Tender Guacamole with Blue Suede Corn Chips
Matt: You Ain't Nothin But A Hot Dog
Michael: It's Now or Never Banana Pudding
Stamatis: Fried Peanut Butter & Banana ala Indochine & Eat the King cookies
Amy: Cold Kentucky (Fried Chicken) Rain & Eat the King cookies

Prizes:
The Graceland Living Room mousepad went to Michael
The Framed Elvis Jump Suit went to Matt

TCM "Scene It" rankings:
1 - Stamatis
2 - Julie
3 - Amy
4 - Matt
5 - Michael

2006 Planner

Upcoming Sunday Night Supper Club Dates & Themes

January 8: Elvis Food & Drink
February 5: CANCELLED DUE TO STEELERS' SUPER BOWL
March 5: Oscars - California Cuisine OR Mardi Gras(TBD)
April 9: Greek Easter - Greek or non-sectarian spring-time fare
May 7: Siete de Mayo - Mexican

Sunday, November 27, 2005

theme: CORN

who was there: what he/she brought:

kim: pretzels, dips, & sodas (ie high-fructose corn syrup)

matt: crusty corn casserole

shawn & kaylie: pumpkin chipotle corn cakes & Jones Holiday Soda

julie: chocolate-dipped bugles (TM)

michael: corn pudding (light)

stamatis: indian corn pudding (dark)

amy: cornbread & sausage stuffing, corn crackers & chips with spreads & dips, corn/lemon cookies, and popcorn bar (unused)

Jones Holiday Soda Pack Taste-Test Results

flavor : number of "favorite" votes

herb stuffing : 4

brussels sprout : 1

turkey : 1

pumpkin : 1

all but cranberry : 1

Sunday, OCTOBER 30, 2005

theme: creepy, spooky, or eerie

who was there: what he/she brought:

• Michael: pumpkin soup
• Matt: batty cauldron of spinach dip w/ crackers & pita
• Julie: "waking grave" (dirt dessert)
• Shawn & Kaylie: 60's orange jell-o mold w/ raisins & cloves
• Aya: spooky-faced bean dip
• Nikolai: cupcakes, candy, & chips
• Stamatis: tombstone doused pumpkin cupcakes with browned-butter filling
• Amy: pumpkin lasagne, inari, mango salsa & chips, spicy popcorn, sangria, creepy cheeses & crackers

PHOTOS:

most requested recipe: PUMPKIN LASAGNE from FoodandWine.com [with some "customization"]

ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, chopped
1 pound baby spinach
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried sage (we didn't ahve any that day so left it out)
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3 cups canned pumpkin puree (one 28-ounce can)
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan
1/2 cup milk
9 no-boil lasagne noodles (about 6 ounces)
1 tablespoon butter

directions:
1) In a large nonstick frying pan, heat the oil over moderately low heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Increase the heat to moderately high and add the spinach, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon sage, and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. Cook, stirring, until the spinach is wilted and no liquid remains in the pan, 5 to 10 minutes.
2) Heat the oven to 400°. In a medium bowl, mix together 2 cups of the pumpkin, 1 cup ricotta cheese, 3/4 cup cream, 1/2 cup Parmesan, and the remaining 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon sage, and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg.
3) Pour the milk into an 8-by-12-inch baking dish. Top the milk with one third of the noodles, then spread half the pumpkin mixture over the noodles. Layer half the spinach over the pumpkin and top with a second layer of noodles. Repeat with another layer of pumpkin, spinach, and noodles. Combine the remaining 1 cup of pumpkin and 3/4 cup of cream. Spread the mixture evenly over the top of the lasagne, sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup of Parmesan, and dot with the butter.
4) Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until golden, about 15 minutes more. Like most lasagnes, this one is easier to cut if left to set for ten minutes or so before serving.